The history of the Belgian Congo is a story of terrible sadness and human devastation rarely noted. From 1885 to 1908, the Congo was governed by a single man who made it his only personal colony; a leader ironically noted at the time for his philanthropy, King Leopold II of Belgium. Seeking a colony of his own, he founded the Congo Free State, a vast territory in the interior of Africa that was more than seventy-six times the size of his own country (Hochschild, 87). A “sober and respectable businessman” named Edmund Dene Morel noted something about this colony that blew the cover on one of the greatest collections of atrocities in human memory (Hochschild, 1 ). Working in Antwerp on dockside business, he noticed that only soldiers were heading to the Congo while goods were being imported, a clear sign that there was no real legitimate trade; he rightly deduced that this meant slavery (Hochschild, 2). This story is the culmination of unlikely heroes and villains from all walks of life, merging in an unforeseen way that changed the world forever. One of these people was an illegitimate child born in a poor house in Wales, named John Rowlins (Hochschild, 22). Once old enough, Rowlins moved to America and became Henry Morton Stanley, a soldier who successfully fought on both sides of the American Civil War and eventually ended up as a reporter for the New York Herald (Hochschild, 23-26) . It was at this time and place that Stanley first began to see indications of European interest in the African continent, which would later be identified as the Scramble for Africa (Hochschild, 26). European interest in this land varied, from the desire to map the still unknown interior of the continent, to the hope of bringing "civilization" there...... middle of paper .... .. colony in the Congo in 1884 (Hochschild, 79-81). To obtain French recognition, Leopold agreed to enter into a "right of first refusal" agreement with them which meant that in the event of financial difficulties, he would have to offer them the debt before anyone else. (namely Great Britain) (Hochschild, 82). Germany initially proved more difficult to convince. Knowing the realities of the region, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck rightly saw the details of the claim as a greedy land grab (Hochschild, 83). Undeterred, Leopold once again worked through an intermediary, Gerson Bleichröder, Bismarck's friend and banker, to convince the Iron Chancellor to accept his request in exchange for guaranteeing free trade there. -low (Hochschild, 83-84). The Ghost of King Leopold: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print.